“Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.” [Will Rogers]

It does not matter whether you found a business or whether you start a project like a merger or programming an application.

First make a plan and be sure that you will get all necessary resources, i. e. money, man power and time.

General info which could help from my point of view:

The Manager’s Handbook, Ernst & Young, ISBN 0-7474-1149-2